Esports Integrity Commission Bans 35 Professional CS:GO Players for Gambling

The Esports Integrity Commission has sanctioned 35 professional CS:GO players for betting on matches they participated in, for example. The organization has turned over the investigation to law enforcement agencies.

List of penalized players

The sanctions imposed on 35 professional CS:GO players come on top of the sanctions imposed on 7 other players in October last year. Penalties range from bans from one to five years, depending on what the players are guilty of.

For betting on a match in a league affiliated with the ESIC, players will be banned for one year. Gambling on your own match results in a two-year ban. The higher penalties are handed out for repeated bets and bets against one’s own team. Three players will be banned for five years. That is, they have gambled more than ten times against a match of their own team.

According to the ESIC, it is ‘quite possible’ that gambling is related to match fixing in some cases, but the organization is not yet making any statements about this. Match fixing is being investigated further, both by the ESIC and by notified law enforcement agencies. If it is determined that there has been match fixing, this can have further consequences for the players.

The ESIC is an organization that aims to safeguard the integrity of e-sports competitions. The organization is also investigating possible corruption and has established rules that players must adhere to. It is not allowed to gamble on matches that are affiliated with the integrity committee.

According to the ESIC, the bans are the result of research conducted in recent years. The main focus was on the Australian CS:GO league. Other investigations are ongoing in leagues in North America and Europe. Similar studies are also underway in a ‘significant number’ of other leagues across multiple games.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive